Isn't it better to have 1 cheat-meal a month, instead of once a week?

Hello all: I have a question. I know that we should incorporate into our diets cheat-meals (refeed-meals) as part of our weight loss regimen, as a tool to give us a rest, give us some fuel into our tired and hungry depleted systems and brain. And as a relaxation, anti-depressant tool.

However, wouldn't 1 cheat refeed meal a day hinder the caloric-deficit that we are trying to work so hard for.

I mean isn't it better to have 1 refeed cheat meal once a month, instead of once a week?

One should also incooperate re-feeds into their diet plan. Re-feeds help boost a hormone called leptin, which is the mother of all fat burning hormones. As one diets, leptin levels drop in an attempt by the body to spare body fat. Periodic, proper re-feeding can raise leptin levels and help one continue to burn fat an optimum rate. A person who is lean will need to re-feed more frequently than someone who has a higher body fat percentage. For those who are below 10%, it is probably a wise idea to in cooperate re-feeds two times per week. For those people who are in the 10-15% range, re-feeding every 6-12 days will probably be adequate, for those who are above 15%, re-feeding will probably not need to be done more than once every week to two weeks. Obviously as one loses body fat they will need to re-feed more often. Refeed days should be planned as follows…

Re-feed on the day you work your worst body part(s) as re-feeding will not only raise leptin, but be quite anabolic.

Keep fat as low as possible during re-feed days as high insulin levels will increase dietary fat transport into adipose tissue. In addition dietary fat has little to no impact on leptin levels.

Reduce protein intake to 1g/lb bodyweight

Consume as little fructose as possible as fructose does not have an impact on leptin levels.

Increase calories to maintenance level (or above if you are an ectomorph) and increase carbs by at least 50-100% (endo’s stay on the low end, while ecto’s should stay on the high end) over normal diet levels.

There is no 300 Calories - 3800 Calories = 1 lbs of weight lost, as the average cardio bunny, hovering over the algorithm on the treadmill, and scrutinizing the nutrition facts of her post workout Snickers bar would like to think.

The body is desparate, and utilizes calories instantaneously. If it didn't, you'd be dead. What's this mean? You're constantly burning fat. When you're running, when your walking, when your sitting on your ass eating chocolate cake, so long as you're living and breathing you are burning fat. You are also burning carbs and proteins as well.....CONSTANTLY!!!!!!! Needless to say, if you are consuming more calories than you are expending, some of those get put into a savings account we often call a "gut". The only means to obtain success through any diet is to find a balance between income and expendature, and good ol' Le Chatelier will take care of the rest.

The question now becomes, what is a "cheat meal"? The body treats calories like people treat money. If you're freaking loaded with cash, you tend to throw it around more because you can afford it. If you're below the poverty rate (and not a drug addict), you tend to try and be more conservative with your money, as you don't have as much to throw around.

The human body is the same way. When you're constantly working in a deficit, the body doesn't have as many calories to throw around as it pleases, and starts to get more conservative with calorie expendature. If you've ever met someone who's been anorexic for a long period of time, she's usually bundled up in warm clothes (even if it's not cold out). Why? Her body has been under such a deficit for so long that (to go along with the $ analogy) she's "on welfare, and can't afford to pay the heating bill."

Anyhow, the main point that I am trying to stress is that they human body is NOT a batch process. You cannot simply cut a finite amount of Calories, extrapolate that over an extended period of time, and expect everything to be all hunky dorey.

Increase calories to maintenance level (or above if you are an ectomorph) and increase carbs by at least 50-100% (endo’s stay on the low end, while ecto’s should stay on the high end) over normal diet levels.

There is no cookie cutter answer. You have to understand the fundamentals of the process and apply them experimentally until you achieve optimum results for yourself. Everyones metabolism is different.

There is no 300 Calories - 3800 Calories = 1 lbs of weight lost, as the average cardio bunny, hovering over the algorithm on the treadmill, and scrutinizing the nutrition facts of her post workout Snickers bar would like to think.

The body is desparate, and utilizes calories instantaneously. If it didn't, you'd be dead. What's this mean? You're constantly burning fat. When you're running, when your walking, when your sitting on your ass eating chocolate cake, so long as you're living and breathing you are burning fat. You are also burning carbs and proteins as well.....CONSTANTLY!!!!!!! Needless to say, if you are consuming more calories than you are expending, some of those get put into a savings account we often call a "gut". The only means to obtain success through any diet is to find a balance between income and expendature, and good ol' Le Chatelier will take care of the rest.

The question now becomes, what is a "cheat meal"? The body treats calories like people treat money. If you're freaking loaded with cash, you tend to throw it around more because you can afford it. If you're below the poverty rate (and not a drug addict), you tend to try and be more conservative with your money, as you don't have as much to throw around.

The human body is the same way. When you're constantly working in a deficit, the body doesn't have as many calories to throw around as it pleases, and starts to get more conservative with calorie expendature. If you've ever met someone who's been anorexic for a long period of time, she's usually bundled up in warm clothes (even if it's not cold out). Why? Her body has been under such a deficit for so long that (to go along with the $ analogy) she's "on welfare, and can't afford to pay the heating bill."

Anyhow, the main point that I am trying to stress is that they human body is NOT a batch process. You cannot simply cut a finite amount of Calories, extrapolate that over an extended period of time, and expect everything to be all hunky dorey.

love the analogy bro, good job.

"I am legally blind and if I can Squat,deadlift and over all get myself to the gym then anyone can get their a$$ in gear and get strong!!" - malleus25WHITE WHALE!

Hello my friend, but i suffer from hypothyroidism, which means that my metabolism is slower, so i gotta eat less than other people. But i think that a refeed cheat meal of 1500 calories is good, it refeeds our system and won't make us fat, like a pig-out meal.

Because a pig-out compulsive eating meal would be like 10,000 calories, which is a lot more than a planed cheat refeed meal

Hello my friend, but i suffer from hypothyroidism, which means that my metabolism is slower, so i gotta eat less than other people. But i think that a refeed cheat meal of 1500 calories is good, it refeeds our system and won't make us fat, like a pig-out meal.

Because a pig-out compulsive eating meal would be like 10,000 calories, which is a lot more than a planed cheat refeed meal

warvictim

I think that your kcal spike should be ~10% above your maintenance with the majority of the kcals coming from carbs.

For those who are just starting i would proberbly suggest twice a week, after a while you won't be so tempted you will get in routine...
Simple rules are for those trying to loose weight is to cut down their food intake at the same time eating enough to fuel their day while us giants need to continually be eating big to get big etc lol

"Keep fat as low as possible during re-feed days as high insulin levels will increase dietary fat transport into adipose tissue. In addition dietary fat has little to no impact on leptin levels."

I personally find this to be less productive than moderate fat re-feeds. When you're highly depleted the fat isn't going to be shuttled right to adipose tissue...it can be stored within the muscles which is an anabolic thing.

Fat may not directly have an impact on leptin, but the synergistic increase in insulin from carbs and fat will.

Hello all: I have a question. I know that we should incorporate into our diets cheat-meals (refeed-meals) as part of our weight loss regimen, as a tool to give us a rest, give us some fuel into our tired and hungry depleted systems and brain. And as a relaxation, anti-depressant tool.

However, wouldn't 1 cheat refeed meal a day hinder the caloric-deficit that we are trying to work so hard for.

I mean isn't it better to have 1 refeed cheat meal once a month, instead of once a week?

warvictim

I think this question should relate to your goals, ya know? If you are bulking, trying to gain as much lean mass as possible, I believe once a month is good. (thats what I do) You can still make healthy meals very tasty. It just takes some creativity on your part. And cutting, I would still go with once a month. It all just depends on your individual goals.

Hello, well i am planing for once a month refeed meals of around 1500 calories. Here is a cheat-meal that i have planned for that day:

pretty cool, well i have a slow metabolism so i cannot eat a lot. But i managed to do 1 cheat-meal, once a month to jumpstart my metabolism. I will do this cheat meal once a month, the last day of every month, 30th or 31st, and it will be like this:

Mix all ingredients real well, add water if u like or a little bit of white flour for more thickness, put cooking spray into a pan, and cook as a pancake, eat with the ricota, cream cheese, or subsitute those 400 calories for other topping, like light syrup, jelly, peanut butter jam, etc.

I think this question should relate to your goals, ya know? If you are bulking, trying to gain as much lean mass as possible, I believe once a month is good. (thats what I do) You can still make healthy meals very tasty. It just takes some creativity on your part. And cutting, I would still go with once a month. It all just depends on your individual goals.